Jim,
Liked you article on the Myhealthyvet and the Blue button. What is up with the VA "Ebenefits" web site
https://www.ebenefits.va.gov/ebenefits-portal/appmanager/eb/veterans
I am a 60% disabled vet with on going claims and what they have on their page is nothing like what is happening in real life.
They have my claim for PTSD listed at closed before I even had my C&P exam. Another section said "You were previously denied service connection for lumbar strain; degenerative disc disease, thoracic spine (claimed as back disability). You were notified of the decision on date of previous denial. The appeal period for that decision has expired and the decision is now final. In order for us to reopen your claim, we need new and material evidence. Your claim was previously denied because Reason for previous denial. Therefore, the evidence you submit must be new and relate to this fact. Claim submited 4/24/2010 Closed date. 5/26/2010 "
Which is intirely wrong as their regulation says I have a year to appeal not one month. (I had just asked for reconsideration.) They dont even put in the "reason for previous denial"
Now we have Myhealthy Vet, The Blue button, and ebenefits and none of them seem to of any use.
When will, if ever, they settle on one page and put in the correct information?
Reply:
I wish I had an answer for you. I don't. I can only tell vets that this is an organization that is so broken it may be beyond repair. When VA publishes press releases about all the advances they're making and they tell you of all the exciting things coming your way soon, they aren't speaking the truth.
To achieve any of your goals at VA you must first accept that they have no qualms about lying to you. Your VA is first and foremost a giant machine that serves itself long before it serves you.
Those programs you mention, and many more, are distractions designed to make you believe that something positive is happening.
I once had a boss who was a highly qualified engineer. He taught me; "Never confuse motion with progress."
Your VA is all about motion, not progress. The Evet site, for example, has created many employees, big budgets, plenty of announcements and not one small grain of progress. No, I do not accept that on-line pharmacy refills are progress. That is merely duplication of services that were already in place. There is nothing new from Evet in its 7 year existence.
As I always do, I advise that veterans do not rely on the toll free numbers, call centers, electronic publications by VA, etc. Your VA has no interest in protecting you and you must protect yourself.
This means that your only acceptable communications with VA occur with certified mail, return receipt requested. No faxing, no phone calls, no email or exploration of on-line data purported to be accurate...it isn't.
If you're trying to confirm the status of your application for benefits or an appeal, don't bother. There is nobody at VA who can tell you that with any reasonable degree of accuracy. The truth is that it's in some pile of folders, somewhere. It will be adjudicated only when it's adjudicated and not one second before. Nobody within the fortress-like compounds of the VA Regional Offices is going to stop whatever it is they're doing and go on a wild goose chase looking for your file and make you happy.
The process is, simply put; submit your claim, provide what VA asks you for, wait. When it is adjudicated, you'll get a letter. If it's what you wanted, good...you're done. If not, you appeal. Notice that nowhere in that brief instruction is there anything about VA web sites or monitoring the progress of your claim.
I usually advise that once you submit your claim and required evidence that you take up a hobby, read War & Peace, get a girlfriend (with your wife's permission, of course) or start drinking heavily. Anything is preferable to trying to track your claim.
Good luck.